E-l Malei Rachamim
by Tiva Shaye
Summary: Ziva has a dark past, one that will begin to be revealed in a Mossad training feed sent to Gibbs and his team. But Director David has more in store, for he now knows the truth regarding Ari's death. With all of the hurt and history drudged up, there will only be one way for the team to react. Will it be for the better or for the worse?


_**E-l Malei Rachamim**_

"I have an announcement to make," Director Jenny Shepard raised her voice as she walked into the bullpen, successfully gaining the attention of Gibbs and his team. "Director David has informed us that we will be read into Mossad training. To begin with, he sent us footage of a training exercise."

"Why would he do that?" Ziva asked, knowing that her father was not the type to disclose such information. "Something smells dishy."

"Fishy, Ziva, fishy," Tony corrected with a small laugh. Ziva gave him a glare but only for a few mere seconds before turning back to Jenny.

"Either way, make your way up to MTAC; all of you," Jenny demanded, equally confused. "That means you too, Jethro." Just as curious, Gibbs grabbed his cup of coffee and began the ascent up the stairs, the rest of the team not far behind. Once in MTAC McGee went to sit next to a caffeine-high Abby and a jabbering Ducky, swinging his arm over his girlfriend's shoulder. Soon after, Ziva and Tony took a seat in the first row, just in front of McGee and Abby, Gibbs and Jenny choosing to stand slightly off to the side. Jenny immediately dismissed the rest of the unnecessary personal before beginning the video feed that could forever change the dynamic of the team.

"_What are you suggesting? That they be put in a hostage situation?" a woman in her mid-thirties spoke angrily. "They are seven, eight, and nine years old!"_

"_You are overreacting. It is a training seminar; they will not be real hostages."_

"_Really? In Mossad, training often includes death. They are your children- let them be so for a while longer," she begged desperately, yet somehow she already knew that their childhood was long gone._

"_The children need to be prepared. This is a test; one they must pass," a balding man with graying hair said as he slammed his fist on the stained oak desk. _

"_Pass or die?" the woman uttered, disgust clearly evident in her tone. _

"_I do not want them dead just yet. I sense that there is a weakness in those three. Particularly with Ari."_

"Ari?" Abby asked. "Why would he send us stuff about Ari?"

"Because he knows the truth," Ziva spoke softly. Tony rubbed her shoulder, trying to ease her tension although he knew not what was wrong.

"What truth?" McGee questioned while he attempted to make eye contact with Ziva.

"Just watch McGee," Gibbs barked, his face contorted with worry. In response, McGee quickly snapped his head back to the screen just as Jenny resumed the feed.

"_Why? I put my trust in Ari when he is with the girls."_

"_Exactly my point," the man retorted. "He is weak when he is with them."_

"_He would do anything to protect his sisters! He loves them!" she screamed, steam nearly coming out of her ears._

"Ari had a family?" Tony was astonished as he focused in on Ziva.

"Why are you staring at me?" Ziva snapped weakly.

"Well, you were assigned to him Zee-vah."

"Yes," Ziva nodded slightly. "He had two sisters," she informed, turning her head away and staring off into her safe place which at this point was anywhere but here.

"_I fear he will release Mossad secrets in exchange for their protection. Something he must learn not to do!" he yelled. "Call the children inside. I'll be waiting for them."_

_Doing as she was told, the woman called for her children, always considering Ari to be her son since day one. In a matter of minutes, three kids stumbled into the brick, one story training house, laughing and bickering over who won the race. "Kids, you have training to attend to," the woman continued to use English as to help them practice one of the seven languages their father had insisted they learn. Understanding, the three siblings raced into the next room, off to find their dad._

"_Papa, Papa," the youngest called, her light brown waves reaching her mid-back. The three hugged their father, not yet understanding what he had in store for them. _

"_I am going to tell each of you a secret. You must keep it while under attack. I will be watching you. Make me proud," was all he said, barely giving a second glance at his children. "Go now." The three listened to his 'secrets' before making their way into the next room with caution. They still did not know what was waiting for them behind the door._

"Great father," Tony commented. "Dads are all the same." Ziva tried to comfort him but was hurting too much herself to find the words, so she simply placed her hand over his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

_Immediately upon entering the dimly lit space, the three children were taken by surprise and tied back to back in wooden chairs that creaked under their weight. Not one of them had successfully been able to fight off their attackers, but that was the point. Now was not a time for skills training but for that of torture._

"_What do you want," the youngest cried, not yet having learned the Mossad technique consisting of hiding each and every emotion. She was silenced with a swift slap across the mouth, the smaller of the two attackers being the assaulter. _

"_Don't hurt her!" Ari screamed in desperation. _

"_Ari, shut up," the older girl chided. _

"_Ah, I've hear about you. You're the feisty one, I can imagine." The taller of the two assailants lifted her chin up. "I would be the one to shut up if I were you," he murmured, slamming her head into the back of the chair. She didn't even do so much as grimace. The brown-eyed beauty simply sat with an impassive stare once more. _

"_You wouldn't want anything to happen to your sisters, eh?" The short yet muscular man circled the three chairs. "It would be a shame if this bullet went in through Tali's head," he pulled the youngest girl's hair up to erect her head, "and out of little miss Ziva's; wouldn't it."_

It was then that Ziva felt as if the world had stopped. She could not prepare herself for what would come next and that was what worried her.

"You were Ari's brother?" McGee seemed angry- everyone seemed angry.

"If only you knew the truth; if only you knew the truth," Gibbs whispered. And when the video continued once again, Ziva did not fail to notice that he was still there, right beside her, squeezing her hand right back.

"_Leave them alone!" Ari cried, surprising Gibbs and his team. "I'll tell you what you want to know." Satisfied, the taller man walked over to Ari and listened as he whispered the 'secret' into his ear before laughing maliciously. Yet that was to be expected- he had won 1:0. What was not expected was Director David storming in, grabbing Ari roughly, and dragging him out the door._

"_I told you to keep the secret!"_

"_I promised that I would never let anything happen to them!"_

"_Well you did a terrible job! As soon as you told them anything, you would've been dead. Then who would have protected them?" the Director slapped his son across the face, still holding on to Ari tightly. "And for that you will stay here and watch them suffer!"_

"He really did care about you two," DiNozzo commented, pushing past feelings regarding Ari aside.

"Yes, he did," was all Ziva responded with.

_The screen sped up as time passed, showing that it had moved ahead a hefty forty-eight hours. Tali and Ziva appeared to be badly beaten, blood dried to their cracked lips and black and blue bruises coating their pale skin. "Let them go!" Ari muffled, trying to speak with the dirty white gag tied around his mouth. But it was of no use; they seemed to be in a world ten thousand miles away, dying right before his very eyes. Ari squirmed in his seat and began to untie the knots on the rope bounding him to his punishment as he looked over his shoulder to ensure that no one was keeping their eye on him. And that was when he heard it. Two mangled screams. Four hands clawing at the ground. Three fallen chairs. The captors were on the floor, pinning the girls to the concrete slab beneath them, stripping their clothes off and tossing them to the side. The assailants quickly shed their black jumpsuits as well, a look of wicked desire painted across their faces. The girls were crying, Ziva surprising Ari with her display of emotions. She was trying to gnaw at the man's head and eyes with her sharp nails but to no avail. The men were stronger and were intent on getting their way with the girls no matter what. That was the last thing he saw until he too had blacked out, the girls having done so a few seconds before. _

Tony moved to push the hair from Ziva's eyes, pulling her hands from her face. She subconsciously tried to wipe her tears away and rid herself of her splotchy cheeks. Tony gently rubbed his finger over her cheekbones and with no words necessary, he told her that he was sorry for what had happened to her and that he would always be there to protect her. Ziva gave a small, sad smile, leaning into Tony's arms a little further. By that point, Gibbs had walked over to Abby and was trying to calm her down because no one messed with her friend and she was ready to pull off more than a doll's head. But eventually the team was drawn to look back up at the screen, the words that popped up making Ziva's head spin once more.

"_He promised to protect you yet you did not do the same for him." Onto the screen came Gibbs' basement. _

Gibbs grimaced, realization overtaking him. Someone had been spying on them.

_Walking down to his basement, Gibbs placed the red roses on his work table as he pulled out the drawer containing his gun, only to find it empty. "You looking for this Jethro," Ari asked from the other corner of the basement. "I want you to know: I wish I hadn't had to shoot Caitlyn."_

"_Why did you?" Gibbs frowned, still hurt from the loss of his agent._

"_To cause you pain."_

"_Did I piss you off that much?"_

"_Not you; my father. You have the misfortune of reminding me of the bastard."_

"_Ah," Gibbs breathed. "He didn't marry your mother."_

"_That's what makes me a bastard, not him," Ari stated plainly. "From the moment of my birth he'd grown me to be one thing: A mole in Hamas. Sent me to Edinburgh to become a doctor so I could work in the Gaza camps alongside my mother. When he had her killed, I had no problem joining Hamas."_

"_You don't really believe your father had your mother killed?" Gibbs asked, disbelief evident in his tone._

"_It was a retaliatory Israeli strike the day I was in Tel Aviv visiting him. After decades of planning, he had his mole in Hamas. He never knew how much I hated him. I wish I could see his face when he realizes he created not a mole, but a monster. You get to strike at the heart of Mossad and Israel."_

"_Yeah, I feel sorry for you."_

"_And I for you."_

"Gibbs, I'm not seeing how you get out of this alive," Abby's voice wavered.

_Ari and Gibbs then circled the boat, Ari successfully trapping Gibbs right in front of his stairwell. "When Ziva told me that you were placing flowers on the roof where Caitlyn died I couldn't believe it. Such a romantic touch. Almost too good to pass up. Almost," Ari breathed with a smirk on his face._

"_Why did you?"_

"_I need you to commit suicide with your own rifle… You never did give me enough credit in our game. I knew it was a trap before Ziva told me you asked her to cover you. You'd never trust Ziva. And you need to kill me to taste the sweetness of revenge."_

_Gibbs held up his hand and said "I've killed enough men Ari. It's going to be just as sweet watching you die." He held up both his hands, prompting Ari to pull the trigger already. _

"_Sorry to spoil your-"_

Abby screamed as a gunshot blared through the speakers, everyone else flinching violently.

_Down the steps walked a Mossad agent, the one Gibbs had trusted to protect him, with a tear in her eye. "His father's a deputy director in Mossad?" was Gibbs first words after taking in Ari's lifeless form. Ziva weakly replied with a 'yes.' "Not David?"_

_Shaking her head, Ziva replied "Yes…he's my half-brother." Gibbs looked to Ziva's distraught face and grabbed her fingers in a loose hold, trying to pass some comfort off to her. _

"You killed your brother for Gibbs?" Tony whispered before Abby pulled Ziva into a bear hug.

"That must have been so hard," Abby rubbed Ziva's back. Ducky and McGee joined in the group hug as well, Gibbs smacking Jenny upside the head as a reminder that he wasn't finished telling her she shouldn't have shown that video. Jenny suggested that they give Ziva some space, so the other members of the team walked out with their heads hung low, Abby upset but saying that if she had only known she would have taken to Ziva much faster. The only one allowed to stay was Tony, seeing as it was Ziva's one request.

And he simply held her, letting the tears she so rarely let show come streaming down her face for what seemed to be hours. He sat and rubbed her back and caressed her supple lips all the while listening to Ziva's singing in the horrific feed.

E-l malei rachamim,  
shochayn bam'romim,  
ham-tzay m'nucha n'chona  
al kanfay Hash'china,

b'ma-alot k'doshim ut-horim  
k'zo-har haraki-a mazhirim,

et nishmat Ari  
she-halach l-olamo.


End file.
